Before digging into global news, a bit of site news: Mission Blind Tasting – a series devoted to learning how to blind taste wine – launched this week. Please check it out!
New grape variety allowed in French wines
On 5 February the Official Journal of the French Republic published a decree authorising the planting and use of the white grape variety Artys in winemaking. The National Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research (INRAE) created this variety in Alsace by crossing two hybrid vine varieties with American and Asian parentage. It is said to be completely resistant to powdery mildew and partially resistant to botrytis, black rot and downy mildew, allowing for an 80–90% reduction in the use of fungicides. According to the INRAE it ripens later than Chardonnay and Colombard and has similar acidity to Chardonnay grown in Champagne. My question is, does it taste good?
Concha y Toro + Maison Mirabeau?
On 4 February, Maison Mirabeau announced that, pending regulatory approval, Concha y Toro will purchase a controlling interest. Stephen Cronk, who co-founded Mirabeau with his wife Jeany in 2010, will remain CEO. While Mirabeau is far smaller than Concha y Toro – only 20 hectares (49 acres) – Concha y Toro’s CEO Eduardo Guilisasti sees similarity in their philosophies, stating in the press release: ‘VCT and Maison Mirabeau are both leaders of sustainability in wine and are certified B Corporations. Stephen Cronk is the co-founder of the Regenerative Viticulture Foundation, to which VCT was already a supporter. Furthermore, VCT’s Bonterra Vineyards is one of the largest Regenerative Organic Certified wine estates in the world, while Maison Mirabeau was the first Regenerative Organic Certified vineyard in France.’
I wish both companies luck in their partnership. However, a quick correction: Bonterra Vineyards, as of my last exchange with the Regenerative Organic Alliance on 15 January, is no longer Regenerative Organic Certified.
Mining fast-tracked in Central Otago
In August of last year, I reported that Santana Minerals had proposed to dig an open-pit gold mine more than a half-mile wide and three smaller pits in the Bendigo subregion of Central Otago. Bendigo is home to more than 20 wineries; Central Otago has more than 130. Well, as it turns out, Santana Minerals secured a key permit in November of last year and immediately submitted a fast-track application for the opening of the mine. When government officials suggested that they may need to wait until September, they pushed for faster processing. On 2 February, Central Otago District Council (CODC) granted the company road access for NZ$1.25 million annually despite protests from the community. A community group called Sustainable Tarras is asking all New Zealanders to help protest the mines. You can find more on their website about how to help.
Update on Facebook recommendation bans
As discussed on this newscast in January, thousands of alcohol-related Facebook accounts and pages recently received emails and/or Facebook notifications saying that their pages would no longer be recommended to users. Businesses and individuals who received this message reported that, upon checking their accounts, their recommendations had been suspended and that they experienced a noticeable drop in the amount of traffic on their accounts. The French publication Vitisphere reports that Vin & Société, an association of 440,000 members in the wine industry, recently received a response from Facebook stating, ‘We have fixed a technical problem that caused some accounts to receive notifications indicating that their pages were not eligible for recommendations. You can ignore these messages, and we apologize for any confusion this may have caused.’ Despite this message, a poll conducted by Northwest Wine Report suggests that some businesses – around 10% – may still be experiencing suspended recommendations.
Argentina’s wine exports way down
In January, Argentina’s National Institute of Viticulture (INV) published their latest export report. The country exported 1.9 million hectolitres worth of wine worth $661 million in 2025. This reflects a 6.8% drop in volume and a 7.2% drop in value compared to 2024. This is the lowest export value in more than 15 years and the lowest export volume in more than 20.
UK now boasts highest wine taxes in Europe
As of this Sunday, 8 February, Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ hike on alcohol duty – introduced in the autumn budget – will take effect, increasing the tax on alcoholic drinks by 3.66%. This change will result in the UK overtaking Finland for the highest wine taxes in all of Europe. A treasury spokesperson is quoted in The Telegraph, ‘Alcohol duty plays an important role in ensuring public finances remain fair and strong and funds the public services people rely on every day.’ But the Wine and Spirits Trade Association estimates that weakened demand due to higher prices will result in a £180m fall in total tax receipts from alcohol duties compared to last year.
Five influential wine figures lost
On 27 January, André Morgenthal, who worked as the communications manager for Wines of South Africa before launching his own consultancy and helping to establish South Africa’s Old Vine Project, died at 54 years old. Jancis and writer Bruce Jack have remembered him on our forum.
On 28 January, Daniel Cathiard, co-owner of Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte in Bordeaux and Cathiard Vineyard in Napa Valley, died after a sudden illness at 81 years old. Cathiard’s wife Florence and daughters Mathilde Thomas and Alice Tourbier – along with sons-in-law Bertrand Thomas and Jérôme Tourbier – will continue to run the estates.
Also on 28 January, Dominique Renard, founder of Bordeaux Millésimes and the St-Émilion Jazz Festival, died at 75 years old.
On 31 January, Pierre Trimbach, technical director of Maison Trimbach for the last 46 years, died in a car accident at 69 years old. Trimbach’s nephew, Julien, will take over winemaking responsibilities. His brother Jean, daughters Anne and Frédérique, and niece, Pauline, will continue to oversee the sales, exports and marketing of the wines.
The wine world also lost James Healy at the end of January. Healy spent a decade as a winemaker at Cloudy Bay before co-founding Dog Point in 2002 – now the largest organic vineyard in New Zealand. In 2018, he became a founding member of Appellation Marlborough Wine (AMW).
That’s all for this episode of the wine news. If you enjoy this newscast and would like to see it continue, please become a member of JancisRobinson.com. And if you have breaking news in your area, please email news@jancisrobinson.com.
Photo at top credit Maison Mirabeau.
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